New Local Council staffs trained in Bo

Newly recruited staff members of local councils on Monday August 31 started a four-day orientation and induction workshop at Madam Wokie Hall in Bo.
The induction and orientation session is expected to improve participants’ understanding of the concepts of local governance and decentralisation, and would also familiarise them with progress made so far and challenges encountered.
It further leads them to have a grasp of technical issues relating to activities of local councils, and with such knowledge they are expected to contribute to an enhancement of the performance of councils.
Their understanding and knowledge of standards and processes as they relate to the performance of their functions would also be enhanced.
Recently recruited Internal Auditors and Development Planners from the various local councils as well as a total of 19 core staff from Freetown City Council, Bo City Council and various other councils are benefiting from the session.
This is the third induction and orientation workshop organised by the Decentralisation Secretariat since the commencement of the decentralisation programme in 2004. The workshops are meant to facilitate a smooth integration of the staff into their new working environments.
The Acting Director of the Decentralisation Secretariat, Alhassan Kanu noted at the opening ceremony of the workshop that government has shown a renewed commitment to advance the decentralisation process by injecting more funds into the system. He said that though the training was relevant it was also necessary to improve the conditions of service of council employees if their efficiency is to be enhanced.
The opening ceremony was chaired by the Provincial Secretary South, George Banya. He said that the training comes at a time when most councils face serious human resource problems characterised by lack of appropriate skills.
But he cautioned that the effective performance of local councils depends on a number of factors such as their propensity to generate revenue from local sources.   
Presentations were made on capacity building.